PROLOGUE
"Wow. This place seems to be doing well," Juliet observed as she looked around the new trendy, upscale restaurant that she sat in with her best friend, Beth, on a warm, June night in New York.
"I can't believe it took us this long to get a reservation. Is that--Jules, there are celebrities in here!"
Juliet and Beth had rubbed elbows with so many celebrities by now that Juliet was practically numb to their presence. Beth's continued amazement, however, was both charming and endearing and Juliet had to smile.
"Ben Robertson is just so much dreamier in person," Beth sighed as she looked through the railing of the balcony their table sat by.
Juliet scoffed an amused laugh. "Dreamy?" She asked as she turned up her wine glass. "What decade are we in, again?"
"Sometimes you gotta dig deep to describe certain people."
"Uh-huh," Juliet mocked her. "So go score a date with him. You know you can. I'll wait here."
Beth's lip curled up in defeat at her last parting glance at the celebrity dreamboat. "His wife is here. That fantasy didn't last long."
"They never do," Juliet muttered.
"Oh, that reminds me," Beth said, the corners of her mouth turning up in a mysterious grin. "Who were you with last night?"
Juliet rolled her eyes and drained her wine glass. "Big, burly muscles, deep, sexy voice--tiny little pencil dick. I didn't even try to fake an orgasm, I was so disappointed. I just crawled off of him and left. After I suggested that he invent a set of weights to put around his dick for whenever he gets hard."
"Jesus Christ, Jules!" Beth squeaked. "Don't you think that's a little harsh?"
"I don't have time for men who aren't straight up with me from the get-go. He should be lucky I even stuck around and got him off."
Beth sighed and shook her head, turning up her own wine. "You really are hopeless, Juliet. So hopeless."
"I am not hopeless--"
"It's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend, if that's the way you talk to your dates."
Juliet snorted as she looked around for the waiter to refill her wine. "I don't need a boyfriend, you know that."
"I know you say that, but just having sex and walking out isn't giving you...I don't know, adequate emotional fulfillment..."
Juliet now threw her head back and laughed heartily. "You think you'd know me by now, Beth. I'm plenty fulfilled, emotionally and otherwise. I get what I want when I need it and the men like it because it gets right down to business with no strings attached. It's a win/win for everyone. Until he has a pencil dick--then I'm just pissed off."
The friends paused long enough for the waiter to collect orders for a lobster bisque for Juliet and chicken breast for Beth. "Excellent choice, Miss Carson," the waiter commented. "We have the best lobster bisque in the city."
"We'll see," she smiled sweetly at him.
After refilling their glasses, the waiter walked away and Beth picked the conversation up where they left off. "I just want you to know how good it feels to be in a relationship. To feel the closeness and the companionship--"
"I don't need a relationship to have those things. It's what I have you for."
Beth scowled at her. "You know what I mean."
"I know. I appreciate your concern, but, really, you don't have to worry about me."
With a defeated sigh, Beth dropped the subject and changed it to a new one. "Have you ever heard of Reynolds Construction?"
"Can't say that I have. Why?"
"Hm. They're interested in a meeting with us about the office building."
"The building? Those plans are barely even off the ground..."
"Somehow they must have gotten wind of it. Our schedule's been so full lately that we haven't been able to squeeze them in and their representative calls on a near daily basis to see if we've had any cancellations."
"Really? I'm not--I mean, we're not even ready to look for contractors, yet."
"Well apparently they're ready for us, and they're persistent."
"Are they worth anything?"
"Truth is, I haven't had the opportunity to review them. But I suppose I ought to."
"Let me know how that goes."
Moments later their food arrived, and conversation turned to small talk as they ate, not realizing how hungry they'd been until their mouths were full.
____________________________________________________
Eric hadn't had a guys' night out in ages. It wasn't that he never wanted to, he just hadn't had the time. It took convincing--a lot of convincing--from his brother and a couple of gym buddies, but he finally caved and the four men sat on the lower level of a new restaurant over beer and steaks.
"You guys hear what happened to Jesse, man?" Barry said, adjusting his large frame in his chair as the light reflected off his bald head.
"Nah, what's up?" Travis asked.
"That fucker managed to score the easiest piece in town and said it was the worst date he'd ever been on," Barry said.
"Did he at least get laid?" Travis asked.
Barry scoffed. "Of course he did, she's fucking easy. Turns out, she's also a selfish bitch. Walked right out on him, didn't even look back."
"Well I say he got the good end of the deal if he got laid and she didn't stick around," Terrell's deep voice interjected.
Travis snickered. "Sounds to me like he couldn't get her off. You know what they say about steroids, man."
As the three men laughed, Eric found himself tuning them out. He didn't care much to hear about his friends' sexual exploits, and he found himself, instead, looking around at the restaurant's structure and inspecting the design. His eyes followed the intricate balcony above him, admiring the hand-carved borders in the wood, when his eye was suddenly distracted by the pair of long, beautifully-sculpted legs that crossed themselves behind the black, wrought iron railing. Trailing his eyes up to the source of the mysterious legs, he discovered what was quite literally the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Dressed in a sleeveless, purple dress that hugged her features in all the right ways, he watched as her dark, brown waves bounced around her arms, cascading down her body, while she spoke animatedly to her friend over their dinner.
He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He was immediately lost in a world that only contained himself and her, their bodies entwined in each other's as he whispered his vows to her in her ear. His heart pounded and his daydreams started to get the best of him, wishing she would look down and notice him, when his brother interrupted him. "Eric. Earth to Eric."
"Huh?"
"Answer the question."
"What question?"
Barry shook his head. "We're taking a poll. You score one night with Juliet Carson. You leave your date at the door or do you take your chances and take her home?"
Eric was confused as he turned up his beer. He must have missed something in his distraction. "Who's Juliet Carson?"
Suddenly the table erupted into laughter. "Come on," Terrell said. "You can't work in construction and not be familiar with Juliet Carson."
"You can't be a man in Manhattan and not be familiar with Juliet Carson," Travis muttered.
Eric thought about the question. "Is she hot?"
"Smoking," Barry answered.
"Well. I mean, it depends on how the date goes. You know, what if there's no chemistry? Or what if there is--?"
More laughter. "Dude, do you live under a rock? The night's GONNA go. You're GONNA get laid, that's the whole reason she agreed to the date. Everybody knows that."
"Then...why is there even a poll?"
"Because she's fucking smoking, man. So far, everybody at this table has said they'd give her a whirl."
"Then why the fuck would I want your sloppy seconds? Or thirds or fourths? If she's that notorious, I probably wouldn't ask her out anyway."
"Not even just to see what it's all about?"
"No. And if Jesse had a shit time, then that's his own fault for making that decision in the first place."
"So you wouldn't be at all curious to try Juliet Carson out?"
"Why would I need to? I'll have the rest of you assholes to give me the play-by-play," Eric smirked, turning up his beer.
The table roared with taunts and challenges. As he finished his beer, he found himself glancing up at the balcony again. The waiter was taking the women's plates and in that instant, he decided he had to make a move.
Their own waiter came around again and the guys had changed the subject and ordered another round. While they were distracted, Eric asked the waiter, quietly and discreetly, "Excuse me, do you think you could get me the name of that woman in the purple dress up there?"
The waiter looked around and up and then he looked back at Eric with what appeared to be slight confusion. "Why, that's Juliet Carson, sir."
Eric's eyes widened in shock. They'd just had a conversation about her. Surely she couldn't be that bad. There was no way. Not with her warm smile and her sparkling eyes. That could not be the same Juliet Carson his friends spoke of. It was impossible.
Eric lowered his voice. "I'd like to place another order."
___________________________________________________________
"I can't eat another bite," Juliet said, pushing her dishes away from her.
"All you ordered was the soup," Beth objected.
"And it was amazing."
As they sipped on after-dinner cocktails and discussed the possibility of attending a party they'd been invited to, the deciding factor being the guest list and what they might wear, their waiter approached the table to collect the dishes. "Will there be anything else, ladies?" He asked them.
"No, thank you," Juliet answered. As the waiter walked away, she looked across the table at Beth and shook her head. "You are the slowest eater I have ever met, hands down."
"You have plenty of wine, there, to keep you occupied, stop complaining."
Juliet smiled, amused, as she turned up her glass, and a waiter that she didn't recognize approached their table and sat a drink down in front of her. "For you, madam," he said.
Juliet looked at Beth, bewildered, and Beth returned the sentiment. The drink looked delicious and Juliet's mouth watered upon sight of it, but she looked up at the waiter regretfully. "I'm sorry, I believe you have the wrong table."
"You're Juliet Carson, correct?"
"I am."
"I have the right table."
Juliet shook her head, still glancing between Beth and the waiter. "I, um, I don't understand..."
"Courtesy of the gentleman sitting below you, madam."
"That's a fitting place for him to be sitting," Beth snorted as she turned up her own drink.
Juliet shot a glare across the table as she looked down at the tables on the floor below them. Her eyes surveyed the area, but no one jumped out at her. "I...I don't think I see him..."
The waiter stood on his toes and peered over the railing for her. "Right there, madam," he said, pointing to a table seating four men near the bar. "The blonde gentleman."
"Which blonde one?"
"Short hair."
Juliet made no effort to be discreet in her inspection of her gift horse. She looked him over as he sat, relaxed, in his chair, beer bottle in hand. His elbows rested comfortably on the table and she drank in the way he nicely filled out the gray Henley he wore. His smile lit up the entire restaurant as he laughed at something one of his friends had said and, in spite of herself, she felt the corners of her mouth turn up in response, as if his laugh was airborne and contagious.
She wasn't able to look away before he caught her watching him and she wished in that moment that she would have quit while she was ahead. Upon sight of her, he put down his beer, flashed a discreet smile and opened his palm in a private wave to acknowledge her. He was too far away to see the color of his eyes, but it didn't stop them from piercing right through her, causing her heart rate to increase to frightening speeds and her palms to break into a sweat. In that moment, the one moment it took for her to get completely lost in his eyes, all she wanted to do was sit next to him and slip her hand into his under he table where nobody could see. She only wanted to be close to him.
"Wow," Beth's voice brought her back to reality in a split second. "Juliet, he is hot."
Tearing her eyes away, she hadn't been more glad to be back in her reality, back in her own world where everything was familiar and safe. Shaken, but attempting to keep her composure, she shook her head and smiled at the waiter, "This is nice, but I'm really not trying to drink tonight."
The waiter looked at the multiple wine glasses on the table and arched an unconvinced eyebrow. "It's a cranberry spritzer made with ginger ale. There is no alcohol."
Juliet thought Beth might choke. "Who the hell buys a woman a non-alcoholic drink?"
"I'm only doing as I was asked, madam," the waiter replied.
The gesture melted Juliet's heart almost as quickly as the man's eyes did, unintentionally, unexpectedly, and uninvited. She shook her head again. "I'm sorry, I can't accept this."
"Well, at least go introduce yourself to Mr. Hot Stuff," Beth said. "Maybe, then, he'll buy you a real drink."
Juliet's anxiety was only growing. She felt as if the entire room was closing in on her and escape was looking more and more futile. "No," she said breathlessly. "I can't. Really. Thank him for me, but I can't accept this. I have to go."
With that, she opened her purse and laid an undetermined amount of cash on the table. "Tell our waiter this should cover the bill. Come on, Beth, we're leaving."
"But I'm not finished--" she objected.
Juliet wasn't listening. She was already trying to make her escape. Looking frantically for the exit, she was appalled to find that the only way out of the restaurant was to pass the gift horse's table. She looked helplessly at Beth. "You gotta get me out of here."
Finally, concern washed over Beth's face and she began to take Juliet seriously. "Okay. Come on. Let's go."
Juliet allowed her best friend to take her by the hand and lead her down the stairs of the balcony and onto the warm, brown hard wood of the main floor. Her knees felt like jelly as they briskly walked through the tables, the gift horse's table approaching them at lightning speed. To her horror, he was already rising from his chair when he saw them approaching. His tall, muscular, athletic frame, paired with his sparkling blue eyes and his ash blonde hair dizzied her and she wasn't sure she would be able to make it out of the restaurant.
"Ms. Carson," she heard his smooth voice say as they approached and, much to Juliet's horror, Beth abruptly stopped as they were almost past the table, causing Juliet to nearly barrel into her back.
"Ms. Carson," he said again, his smile causing her to see a future she knew she didn't have. "I couldn't help but notice--"
"I can't stay," she breathed. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
Beth tried to object, but Juliet wasn't having it. Shoving past her friend, she walked through the restaurant and gasped in the city air upon impact as she walked out the door. Her nerves shaking her entire body, and realizing that he could follow her out the door at any moment if he chose to, she immediately took off in a brisk walk down the street.
It was the rapid clicking of Beth's heels against the concrete as she trotted to catch up with her, that Juliet realized that she'd completely left her in the dust. "Jules!" She scolded as she breathlessly caught up with her. "Have you finally lost your mind? Gone off the deep end? What the hell happened in there? He was sexy! And did you see those eyes? Did you see the way--?"
"I didn't like the way he looked at me. I don't trust him."
"How would you know?" Beth muttered, visibly aggravated. "You didn't take the time to know him."
But Juliet was done with the conversation. In silence, she hailed them a cab and they rode quietly to their destinations.
"Wow. This place seems to be doing well," Juliet observed as she looked around the new trendy, upscale restaurant that she sat in with her best friend, Beth, on a warm, June night in New York.
"I can't believe it took us this long to get a reservation. Is that--Jules, there are celebrities in here!"
Juliet and Beth had rubbed elbows with so many celebrities by now that Juliet was practically numb to their presence. Beth's continued amazement, however, was both charming and endearing and Juliet had to smile.
"Ben Robertson is just so much dreamier in person," Beth sighed as she looked through the railing of the balcony their table sat by.
Juliet scoffed an amused laugh. "Dreamy?" She asked as she turned up her wine glass. "What decade are we in, again?"
"Sometimes you gotta dig deep to describe certain people."
"Uh-huh," Juliet mocked her. "So go score a date with him. You know you can. I'll wait here."
Beth's lip curled up in defeat at her last parting glance at the celebrity dreamboat. "His wife is here. That fantasy didn't last long."
"They never do," Juliet muttered.
"Oh, that reminds me," Beth said, the corners of her mouth turning up in a mysterious grin. "Who were you with last night?"
Juliet rolled her eyes and drained her wine glass. "Big, burly muscles, deep, sexy voice--tiny little pencil dick. I didn't even try to fake an orgasm, I was so disappointed. I just crawled off of him and left. After I suggested that he invent a set of weights to put around his dick for whenever he gets hard."
"Jesus Christ, Jules!" Beth squeaked. "Don't you think that's a little harsh?"
"I don't have time for men who aren't straight up with me from the get-go. He should be lucky I even stuck around and got him off."
Beth sighed and shook her head, turning up her own wine. "You really are hopeless, Juliet. So hopeless."
"I am not hopeless--"
"It's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend, if that's the way you talk to your dates."
Juliet snorted as she looked around for the waiter to refill her wine. "I don't need a boyfriend, you know that."
"I know you say that, but just having sex and walking out isn't giving you...I don't know, adequate emotional fulfillment..."
Juliet now threw her head back and laughed heartily. "You think you'd know me by now, Beth. I'm plenty fulfilled, emotionally and otherwise. I get what I want when I need it and the men like it because it gets right down to business with no strings attached. It's a win/win for everyone. Until he has a pencil dick--then I'm just pissed off."
The friends paused long enough for the waiter to collect orders for a lobster bisque for Juliet and chicken breast for Beth. "Excellent choice, Miss Carson," the waiter commented. "We have the best lobster bisque in the city."
"We'll see," she smiled sweetly at him.
After refilling their glasses, the waiter walked away and Beth picked the conversation up where they left off. "I just want you to know how good it feels to be in a relationship. To feel the closeness and the companionship--"
"I don't need a relationship to have those things. It's what I have you for."
Beth scowled at her. "You know what I mean."
"I know. I appreciate your concern, but, really, you don't have to worry about me."
With a defeated sigh, Beth dropped the subject and changed it to a new one. "Have you ever heard of Reynolds Construction?"
"Can't say that I have. Why?"
"Hm. They're interested in a meeting with us about the office building."
"The building? Those plans are barely even off the ground..."
"Somehow they must have gotten wind of it. Our schedule's been so full lately that we haven't been able to squeeze them in and their representative calls on a near daily basis to see if we've had any cancellations."
"Really? I'm not--I mean, we're not even ready to look for contractors, yet."
"Well apparently they're ready for us, and they're persistent."
"Are they worth anything?"
"Truth is, I haven't had the opportunity to review them. But I suppose I ought to."
"Let me know how that goes."
Moments later their food arrived, and conversation turned to small talk as they ate, not realizing how hungry they'd been until their mouths were full.
____________________________________________________
Eric hadn't had a guys' night out in ages. It wasn't that he never wanted to, he just hadn't had the time. It took convincing--a lot of convincing--from his brother and a couple of gym buddies, but he finally caved and the four men sat on the lower level of a new restaurant over beer and steaks.
"You guys hear what happened to Jesse, man?" Barry said, adjusting his large frame in his chair as the light reflected off his bald head.
"Nah, what's up?" Travis asked.
"That fucker managed to score the easiest piece in town and said it was the worst date he'd ever been on," Barry said.
"Did he at least get laid?" Travis asked.
Barry scoffed. "Of course he did, she's fucking easy. Turns out, she's also a selfish bitch. Walked right out on him, didn't even look back."
"Well I say he got the good end of the deal if he got laid and she didn't stick around," Terrell's deep voice interjected.
Travis snickered. "Sounds to me like he couldn't get her off. You know what they say about steroids, man."
As the three men laughed, Eric found himself tuning them out. He didn't care much to hear about his friends' sexual exploits, and he found himself, instead, looking around at the restaurant's structure and inspecting the design. His eyes followed the intricate balcony above him, admiring the hand-carved borders in the wood, when his eye was suddenly distracted by the pair of long, beautifully-sculpted legs that crossed themselves behind the black, wrought iron railing. Trailing his eyes up to the source of the mysterious legs, he discovered what was quite literally the most gorgeous woman he had ever seen. Dressed in a sleeveless, purple dress that hugged her features in all the right ways, he watched as her dark, brown waves bounced around her arms, cascading down her body, while she spoke animatedly to her friend over their dinner.
He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He was immediately lost in a world that only contained himself and her, their bodies entwined in each other's as he whispered his vows to her in her ear. His heart pounded and his daydreams started to get the best of him, wishing she would look down and notice him, when his brother interrupted him. "Eric. Earth to Eric."
"Huh?"
"Answer the question."
"What question?"
Barry shook his head. "We're taking a poll. You score one night with Juliet Carson. You leave your date at the door or do you take your chances and take her home?"
Eric was confused as he turned up his beer. He must have missed something in his distraction. "Who's Juliet Carson?"
Suddenly the table erupted into laughter. "Come on," Terrell said. "You can't work in construction and not be familiar with Juliet Carson."
"You can't be a man in Manhattan and not be familiar with Juliet Carson," Travis muttered.
Eric thought about the question. "Is she hot?"
"Smoking," Barry answered.
"Well. I mean, it depends on how the date goes. You know, what if there's no chemistry? Or what if there is--?"
More laughter. "Dude, do you live under a rock? The night's GONNA go. You're GONNA get laid, that's the whole reason she agreed to the date. Everybody knows that."
"Then...why is there even a poll?"
"Because she's fucking smoking, man. So far, everybody at this table has said they'd give her a whirl."
"Then why the fuck would I want your sloppy seconds? Or thirds or fourths? If she's that notorious, I probably wouldn't ask her out anyway."
"Not even just to see what it's all about?"
"No. And if Jesse had a shit time, then that's his own fault for making that decision in the first place."
"So you wouldn't be at all curious to try Juliet Carson out?"
"Why would I need to? I'll have the rest of you assholes to give me the play-by-play," Eric smirked, turning up his beer.
The table roared with taunts and challenges. As he finished his beer, he found himself glancing up at the balcony again. The waiter was taking the women's plates and in that instant, he decided he had to make a move.
Their own waiter came around again and the guys had changed the subject and ordered another round. While they were distracted, Eric asked the waiter, quietly and discreetly, "Excuse me, do you think you could get me the name of that woman in the purple dress up there?"
The waiter looked around and up and then he looked back at Eric with what appeared to be slight confusion. "Why, that's Juliet Carson, sir."
Eric's eyes widened in shock. They'd just had a conversation about her. Surely she couldn't be that bad. There was no way. Not with her warm smile and her sparkling eyes. That could not be the same Juliet Carson his friends spoke of. It was impossible.
Eric lowered his voice. "I'd like to place another order."
___________________________________________________________
"I can't eat another bite," Juliet said, pushing her dishes away from her.
"All you ordered was the soup," Beth objected.
"And it was amazing."
As they sipped on after-dinner cocktails and discussed the possibility of attending a party they'd been invited to, the deciding factor being the guest list and what they might wear, their waiter approached the table to collect the dishes. "Will there be anything else, ladies?" He asked them.
"No, thank you," Juliet answered. As the waiter walked away, she looked across the table at Beth and shook her head. "You are the slowest eater I have ever met, hands down."
"You have plenty of wine, there, to keep you occupied, stop complaining."
Juliet smiled, amused, as she turned up her glass, and a waiter that she didn't recognize approached their table and sat a drink down in front of her. "For you, madam," he said.
Juliet looked at Beth, bewildered, and Beth returned the sentiment. The drink looked delicious and Juliet's mouth watered upon sight of it, but she looked up at the waiter regretfully. "I'm sorry, I believe you have the wrong table."
"You're Juliet Carson, correct?"
"I am."
"I have the right table."
Juliet shook her head, still glancing between Beth and the waiter. "I, um, I don't understand..."
"Courtesy of the gentleman sitting below you, madam."
"That's a fitting place for him to be sitting," Beth snorted as she turned up her own drink.
Juliet shot a glare across the table as she looked down at the tables on the floor below them. Her eyes surveyed the area, but no one jumped out at her. "I...I don't think I see him..."
The waiter stood on his toes and peered over the railing for her. "Right there, madam," he said, pointing to a table seating four men near the bar. "The blonde gentleman."
"Which blonde one?"
"Short hair."
Juliet made no effort to be discreet in her inspection of her gift horse. She looked him over as he sat, relaxed, in his chair, beer bottle in hand. His elbows rested comfortably on the table and she drank in the way he nicely filled out the gray Henley he wore. His smile lit up the entire restaurant as he laughed at something one of his friends had said and, in spite of herself, she felt the corners of her mouth turn up in response, as if his laugh was airborne and contagious.
She wasn't able to look away before he caught her watching him and she wished in that moment that she would have quit while she was ahead. Upon sight of her, he put down his beer, flashed a discreet smile and opened his palm in a private wave to acknowledge her. He was too far away to see the color of his eyes, but it didn't stop them from piercing right through her, causing her heart rate to increase to frightening speeds and her palms to break into a sweat. In that moment, the one moment it took for her to get completely lost in his eyes, all she wanted to do was sit next to him and slip her hand into his under he table where nobody could see. She only wanted to be close to him.
"Wow," Beth's voice brought her back to reality in a split second. "Juliet, he is hot."
Tearing her eyes away, she hadn't been more glad to be back in her reality, back in her own world where everything was familiar and safe. Shaken, but attempting to keep her composure, she shook her head and smiled at the waiter, "This is nice, but I'm really not trying to drink tonight."
The waiter looked at the multiple wine glasses on the table and arched an unconvinced eyebrow. "It's a cranberry spritzer made with ginger ale. There is no alcohol."
Juliet thought Beth might choke. "Who the hell buys a woman a non-alcoholic drink?"
"I'm only doing as I was asked, madam," the waiter replied.
The gesture melted Juliet's heart almost as quickly as the man's eyes did, unintentionally, unexpectedly, and uninvited. She shook her head again. "I'm sorry, I can't accept this."
"Well, at least go introduce yourself to Mr. Hot Stuff," Beth said. "Maybe, then, he'll buy you a real drink."
Juliet's anxiety was only growing. She felt as if the entire room was closing in on her and escape was looking more and more futile. "No," she said breathlessly. "I can't. Really. Thank him for me, but I can't accept this. I have to go."
With that, she opened her purse and laid an undetermined amount of cash on the table. "Tell our waiter this should cover the bill. Come on, Beth, we're leaving."
"But I'm not finished--" she objected.
Juliet wasn't listening. She was already trying to make her escape. Looking frantically for the exit, she was appalled to find that the only way out of the restaurant was to pass the gift horse's table. She looked helplessly at Beth. "You gotta get me out of here."
Finally, concern washed over Beth's face and she began to take Juliet seriously. "Okay. Come on. Let's go."
Juliet allowed her best friend to take her by the hand and lead her down the stairs of the balcony and onto the warm, brown hard wood of the main floor. Her knees felt like jelly as they briskly walked through the tables, the gift horse's table approaching them at lightning speed. To her horror, he was already rising from his chair when he saw them approaching. His tall, muscular, athletic frame, paired with his sparkling blue eyes and his ash blonde hair dizzied her and she wasn't sure she would be able to make it out of the restaurant.
"Ms. Carson," she heard his smooth voice say as they approached and, much to Juliet's horror, Beth abruptly stopped as they were almost past the table, causing Juliet to nearly barrel into her back.
"Ms. Carson," he said again, his smile causing her to see a future she knew she didn't have. "I couldn't help but notice--"
"I can't stay," she breathed. "I'm sorry, I have to go."
Beth tried to object, but Juliet wasn't having it. Shoving past her friend, she walked through the restaurant and gasped in the city air upon impact as she walked out the door. Her nerves shaking her entire body, and realizing that he could follow her out the door at any moment if he chose to, she immediately took off in a brisk walk down the street.
It was the rapid clicking of Beth's heels against the concrete as she trotted to catch up with her, that Juliet realized that she'd completely left her in the dust. "Jules!" She scolded as she breathlessly caught up with her. "Have you finally lost your mind? Gone off the deep end? What the hell happened in there? He was sexy! And did you see those eyes? Did you see the way--?"
"I didn't like the way he looked at me. I don't trust him."
"How would you know?" Beth muttered, visibly aggravated. "You didn't take the time to know him."
But Juliet was done with the conversation. In silence, she hailed them a cab and they rode quietly to their destinations.